Fall 2004 • Vol. 4, Issue 2
Vermont Cheese Wins Big
Two major cheese competitions were held this summer – one on
US soil and the other abroad. In both, Vermont cheesemakers
fared very well with six separate cheesemakers pulling in
20 awards between the two competitions. Shown at left, ACS
first place winner Thistle Hill’s Tarentaise. (see story page 3)
Willow Smart of Willow
Hill Cheese, winner of four
awards at the 17th World
Cheese Awards held in
September in London –
more than any other US
company entered in the
competition.
MESSAGE
FROM THE
PRESIDENT
A Great Year for Vermont
Cheeses and Cheesemakers
there was a “buzz” out there. And it felt
good.
Hopefully the winter will be just as
fruitful. I know that I and the other
Executive members of the VCC have
some pet projects that we are working on.
And all of us have cheese to make, age,
experiment with, and hopefully
somewhere in there, sell.
I have been nothing but proud of what
I’ve seen being produced in this state this year. The
cheese makers are working as hard as ever, and it
shows. Though I am somewhat new to the scene,
making cheese for just four years now, I hope to
continue to be a part of this great group for many
years to come. The more I make, the more I enjoy
the route I have taken. And I can only hope that
the council continues to grow in numbers and in
potential. This is a unique group of people. From
cheese makers, to food related professionals, to
university professors, to members of Vermont’s
Department of Agriculture. All of us have different
backgrounds, different stories to tell, different
animals we milk - but we all share a similar goal. To
make the best, most individually recognizable
cheeses we can. To get people to expand what they
know, and think they know about cheese. And to
hopefully get a few from outside the state to come
and pay a visit; see our farms, see our herds, and
see why we all choose to live in this rural
wonderland.
ell, it has happened again.
Summer has slipped us by, and
the autumn leaves have all
dropped. The fresh, yellow-hued milk of
spring and summer is being replaced with
the pristine white milk of fall and winter.
A few of us are winding down our
operations for the season, while others are
just getting theirs going. It is now time to
dawn our parkas and say hello to sunset at
4:30.
Something happened in Vermont this year.
There was this somewhat intangible “buzz” in the air
surrounding the cheese scene here in the state that I
had not felt in recent years. Maybe I was just more
aware of what was going on; being that this was my
first year as the VCC President. But I would like to
think that it was actually more of what my gut was
telling me. That people were, to a greater degree,
taking notice of what we’ve been doing in this little
state, tucked way up here in the North East corner.
People were getting just as excited to try some of our
cheeses as we are to make them.
A lot has happened this year. A fine showing at
this years ACS awards in Milwaukee. Awards
brought home from the World Cheese Awards in the
UK. The inception of the Vermont Institute for
Artisinal Cheeses (VIAC) in conjunction with the
University of Vermont. The wonderful Water Buffalo
cheese and yoghurts from Star Hill Dairy. New
cheese makers in the Northeast Kingdom getting
National coverage on television and in newspapers.
Vermont cheese makers being invited to Italy
through the folks at Slow Food USA. Various articles
in food and wine related magazines. Like I said,
W
Jamie Miller, Shelburne Farms
President
2
Vermont Cheeses Earn Awards
American Cheese Society and World Cheese Awards
number Vermonters among winners
American Cheese Society Awards
he American Cheese Society (ACS) Awards
Ceremony was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in
July. In this competition, cheeses are judged both
on their technical merit as well as on measures of
T
Company
aesthetics (e.g. flavor, aroma and texture). One hundred
and eleven (111) cheese making companies from the US
and Canada entered the competition. Vermont winners
were:
Category
Award
Cheese
Cabot Creamery
1st place
1st place
2nd place
3rd place
Monterey Jack made from Cow’s milk
Cheddars; flavor added
Aged Cheddars, all milks (12-24 months)
Butters
Monterey Jack
Five Peppercorn Cheddar
Private Stock Cheddar
Whey Cream Butter
Willow Hill Farm
2nd place
2nd place
Open Category, sheep or mixed milk
Cultured products made from sheep’s milk
Summer Tomme
Organic Sheep Yogurt
Shelburne Farms
1st place
2nd place
3rd place
Smoked Cheddar
Mature Cheddars (aged + 25 months)
Cheese Spreads
Smoked Cheddar
25 Month Cheddar
Roasted Red Pepper Cheddar
Vermont Butter &
Cheese Company
1st place
2nd place
3rd place
3rd place
Feta Cheese
Fresh Goat Cheese; flavor added
Crème Fraiche from cow’s milk
Quark Cheese from cow’s Milk
Vermont Goats’ Milk Feta
Vermont Chevre Herb
Vermont Crème Fraiche
Vermont Quark
Thistle Hill Farm
1st place
Farmstead Cheese; all milks;
aged longer than 90 days
Tarentaise
World Cheese Awards
American companies to earn medals in the Cheddar categories, no small achievement considering the contest
took place in the United Kingdom, where cheddar was
first created more than 800 years ago. Willow Hill Farm
took home four awards, the most of any US company
entered in the competition. Winners from Vermont were:
At the 17th World Cheese Awards in London in September, US cheese makers earned 44 medals – six of them
by Vermonters. The contest attracted nearly 1,500 total
entries, including 226 from the United States. Specialty
cheeses from the US earned 15 gold medals, 15 silvers and
14 bronze. Cabot Creamery Cooperative was one of two
Company
Award
Category
Cheese
Cabot Creamery
Gold
Mature Winter Block Cheddar
Clothbound Cheddar Wheel
Willow Hill Farm
Gold
Silver
Autumn Oak
Cobble Hill
Silver
Bronze
Hard or Semi Hard Ewes’ milk cheese
Cheese produced on a farm/dairy with output
not exceeding a weekly average of 2 tonnes
Ewes’ milk with additives
Soft ewes’ milk cheese plain
Bronze
Hard or semi-hard ewes’ milk cheese
Vermont Shepherd
Vermont
Shepherd
3
Summer Tomme with Herbs
Vermont Brebis
A Welcome Spanish Import:
Cheese Evaluation Expertise
By Carol Delaney, Small Ruminant
Dairy Specialist, University of
Vermont
s Vermont grows its numbers
of cheese makers, so too
grows the need for technical
advice on cheese recipe development,
tests for quality control, and sensory
evaluation training for taste.
Consumers will pay higher than average prices for Vermont artisanal
cheeses but only if the product is
consistent and the flavor is good.
Most members of the Vermont
Cheese Council have been making
cheese for less than 10 years and are
now working to perfect their original
cheese recipes as well as developing
new cheese products to diversify
their product line. For the past three
years, the Northeast Center for Food
Entrepreneurship (NECFE) and the
Center for Sustainable Agriculture s
Small Ruminant Dairy Project have
co-sponsored cheese workshops.
Now, NECFE has hired a full-time
associate to work with cheese makers. Dr. Montserrat ( Montse )
Almena-Aliste brings years of training
and work with European cheese makers to her new position in Vermont.
Montse was born in Ponferrada,
Spain, in the northwest corner of the
country. She received her Master’s
degree in Analytical Chemistry,
Nutrition and Inspection of Foods at
the University of Santiago de
Compostela in Lugo, Spain, and did
her a Ph.D research in Poligny,
France where she studied cheese
texture and technology after which
she returned to the University of
Santiago to direct a cheese quality
project. There, she worked to refine
A
the technological and sensory
characterization of traditional
Spanish cheeses. It was her job to
collect information from cheese
makers to characterize each cheese
and identify the sources of variability
on the quality of the final product.
She was also involved in promoting
traditional cheeses in scientific and
social events, speaking as dairy
scientist and sensory expert.
Through her academic and
professional networks, Montse
learned about and eventually met
UVM dairy foods research Professor
Dr. Paul Kindstedt, author of many
scientific articles that had been so
valuable for her Ph.D. work. She
immediately started a post-doctoral
research project with Dr. Kindstedt
at UVM. I will never forget when Dr.
Kindstedt hired me to work in his
lab. “When I started working with
him I knew he was a expert in
Mozzarella and over these past years
I found out that Paul is a wonderful
person with an incredible knowledge
in dairy technology and a passion for
Vermont and artisan cheese making,”
Montse said. Her two years of
research focused on identifying the
phenomena that determine the
functional and textural quality of
mozzarella and cream cheeses. She
was also enlisted to teach a sensory
evaluation course at UVM and part of
a cheese workshop held at NECFE to
help cheese makers learn about
sensory evaluation of cheeses.
Montse also spent time helping
Vermont Cheese Council member
and water buffalo farm in South
Woodstock, Star Hill Dairy, Inc.,
develop their recipes for plain and
flavored yogurts and mozzarella
4
cheese. There, with her technical
expertise and knowledge of the
Italian language, she was able to
transfer expertise on Mozzarella
between Italian and American cheese
makers.
Recently, through the generosity
of The John Merck Fund and an
anonymous donor, the Northeast
Center for Food Entrepreneurship at
UVM created the Vermont Institute
for Artisan Cheese (VIAC) to support
and strengthen artisan cheese
making. Montse’s position at VIAC
has been secured for the next three
years to provide technical assistance
and educational programs to cheese
makers, along with research
expertise in the area of sensory
analysis.
To reach Dr. Montserrat AlmenaAliste, (“Montse”), please contact her
at montse@uvm.edu.
Source: Cultivating Connections,
Spring, 2004, Volume X, Number 2.
Available: Extra Hands
The University of Vermont’s
Department of Nutrition and
Food Sciences has students who
are interested in gaining
experience outside of the
classroom. If you are a business
or organization that could
provide a food science or
nutrition-related volunteer
opportunity or internship to an
excited student, please contact:
Linda Berlin
309A Terrill Hall, 570 Main St.
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05405-0148
802-656-0669 (phone)
802-656-0407 (fax)
Top Boston Restaurant Hosts
Vermont Cheeses and
Cheesemakers
onsidered to be among the
best, if not THE best
restaurant in Boston,
L’Espalier is a chic and modern
restaurant featuring inventive New
England-French cuisine based on
fresh, regional ingredients. Located
in the heart of fashionable Back Bay,
on the corner of Newbury and
Gloucester Streets, L’Espalier has
long been a supporter of regional
artisinal cheeses and has included
Hope Farm’s Tomme de Brebis and
Lazy Lady Farm’s goat’s milk cheeses
on their cheese tray for the past few
years.
In addition to that, Chef Frank
McClelland and fromager Louis Risoli
have created the New England
Cheesemakers Series, as part of their
ever-popular Cheese Tuesday series,
which has been delighting cheeseloving patrons since 2002. As part of
the New England Cheesemakers
Series, L’Espalier has welcomed a
number of Vermont’s finest cheesemakers to participate in a series of
special events centered on these
distinguished, and often quirky,
C
cheesemakers. “For years, we have
been the premiere cheese
destination in Boston and we are
always seeking out new cheeses and
cheesemakers. We have met some
really fascinating people along the
way, and wanted them to be able to
share their stories with our guests.
This cheese series is also in line with
L’Espalier’s philosophy of using only
the freshest ingredients from New
England farms and farmers. We are
very excited to be presenting these
cheesemakers to the Boston public,”
says Risoli. Each evening in the
cheesemakers series includes a fourcourse dinner with a different wine
paired with each course. The fourth
course is a grand cheese tasting
selected by the featured guest. Nick
Tranquillo, L’Espalier’s Assistant
Maitre D’ and the restaurant’s liaison
with the cheesemakers, has brought
in Mark and Gari Fischer from
Woodcock Farm, John and Janine
Putnam from Thistle Hill Farm,
Willow Smart from Willow Hill Farm
and Laini Fondiller from Lazy Lady
Farm in Westfield so far this year.
The fixed price cost for the cheese
dinner is $55 and that includes
wines paired with each course.
On the internet, one can find
numerous ratings of the restaurant
by patrons. One, posted in October
of last year by Max, wrote, “My
favorite “special place” restaurant in
Boston, by far. L’Espalier is elegant,
the menu is wonderful and the food
is second to none. Try the cheese
course or the caviar course, it’s
different, wonderful, and certainly a
culinary experience that is not to be
missed. “Of her experience as a
cheesemaker showcased at the
restaurant, Lazy Lady’s Laini
Fondellier said it was: “incredible,
unbelievable, beyond all my wildest
dreams. Never eaten so well in all my
life, I was treated like a celebrity.
The folks at L’Espailer were generous
way beyond the call of duty, every
plate full of food was a work of art
...on top of being totally delicious.”
Look for L’Espalier to bring more
Vermont cheesemakers and their
unique cheeses to Boston over the
coming months.
A sampling of
current
Vermont
cheeses.
5
Vermont Institute for Artisan
Cheese Offers Training
The following is excerpted from an
article, Big Help for Small Cheese,
by Melissa Pasanen published in the
Burlington Free Press on June 22,
2004.
he new Vermont Institute for
Artisan Cheese located at the
University of Vermont held a
daylong course this summer at the
Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms
designed to help more than a dozen
cheesemakers refined their ability to
distinguish good Cheddar from bad.
“The texture of each cheese,
explained Dr. Montserrat AlmenaAliste, a member of the institute’s
technical staff, must be evaluated for
its elasticity, firmness, deformability,
friability and adhesivity.” (see related
story on Cheese Evaluation, page 4).
Kristan Doolan of Does’ Leap Farm
in Bakersfield held a hunk of cheese
to her nose and sniffed intently for a
few moments before she wrote
“nuts” and “toasty” on her four-page
cheese sensory evaluation form.
Doolan makes fresh and aged goat
cheese. While she has no plans to
make a Cheddar-style cheese, “you
can always learn something about
cheese,” Doolan said.
Seated a few chairs away was
Linda Dimmick of Neighborly Farms,
who is very familiar with Cheddars -the focus of her family’s organic
dairy in Randolph Center.
Commenting on the first cheese sample, Dimmick said, “The bitterness
reminded me of the Cheddar I made
in the beginning. I had this big factory cheese guy showing me how to do
it, and he told me to add lots of culture to speed it up — but we’re just
small farmstead guys. We’re not in
that kind of hurry.”
T
Doolan and Dimmick are prime
examples of the type of cheesemaker
the newly launched Vermont
Institute for Artisan Cheese was created to help. The institute grew out
of the work of Catherine Donnelly
and Paul Kindstedt, internationally
recognized food scientists and longtime professors in the University of
Vermont’s nutrition and food science
department. Funding of more than
half a million dollars was secured
through the efforts of Sen. James
Jeffords, I-Vt., as well as contributions from the John Merck Fund and
an anonymous donor.
In Vermont, small cheese operations are a bright spot in farming.
There are more than 30 such cheesemakers across the state, many of
whom have won prestigious national
awards in the increasingly competitive domestic segment. “Ten years
ago here at the American Cheese
Society annual awards, we evaluated
50 cheeses,” Donnelly told the group.
“Last year in San Francisco, we had
589 cheeses.”
Artisan cheese, as Donnelly
explains it, “is typically handcrafted
cheese made in the European tradition. It’s not the plastic-wrapped
commodity cheese. Often it is also
what we call farmstead cheese,
which is manufactured from a closed
herd and usually the cheesemaker is
also the animal herdsperson, so they
know the composition of the grasses,
they know the animals that produce
the milk. That way the milk that you
get for cheesemaking is the highest
quality.”
Along with growing competition,
the challenges facing small cheesemakers are numerous: from navigating government regulations that are
6
designed for huge industrial food producers, to managing the natural variability of milk from pastured animals
while delivering the consistent
cheese that customers expect.
“Cheesemakers often recall that
when they started they were making
40 different cheeses, and they were
only supposed to be making one,”
Donnelly noted.
The new institute will not only
provide regular educational opportunities such as like the cheddar workshop, but also help connect cheesemakers with experts who can assist
them through scientific and commercial issues, and even offer “house
calls” for on-site technical assistance.
It is modeled after similar organizations in France, Italy and Spain, but
is the first institution in this country
to focus on the needs of small cheesemakers.
“There was a vacuum,” agreed
workshop attendee Jim Wallace of
Shelburne Falls, Mass., who works
for New England Cheesemaking
Supply, a company that has taught
small-scale cheesemaking and sold
equipment and materials to cheesemakers for 25 years. “Other cheese
science institutions in this country
have concentrated more on the
industrial cheeses,” he explained.
“We get phone calls every day from
all over the country looking for help.
It’s absolutely fabulous that this
exists.”
Donnelly emphasized that “having
the best science available will give
Vermont cheesemakers a leg up,”
and, even as the institute helps others across the country, “It will halo
back on Vermont. By helping all of
us, we’re helping ourselves.”
The Training Center for Farmstead
Milk Processing at Westminster
Dairy Presents Workshops
series of two-day workshops
and seminars in making
cheese and other dairy
products on the farm, taught by Peter
Dixon and special guests. Through
making cheese and other dairy
products and receiving classroom
instruction at Westminster Dairy, a
licensed Vermont farmstead,
certified-organic milk processor,
participants will learn the
fundamentals of milk processing and
how to set up and improve their own
farmstead cheese businesses. During
the two days, we will make butter,
yogurt, starter cultures, other fresh
cultured dairy products and at least
four varieties of cheese. A simple raw
milk tomme-style cheese will be
made in all the workshops. Lunches
and course materials, including many
tried and true recipes, will be
provided. Cost is $250; a $50 deposit
is required and the remainder is
payable on arrival. Classes are from
9 am to 4 pm each day. All of the
classes will be held at the Fischers’
Woodcock Farm in Weston, VT.
Contact Peter Dixon at 802-3874041 or e-mail pdixon@sover.net for
further details and to register and
receive directions.
A
2004 Workshop/
Seminar Schedule
November 20 The Business and
Regulation of Farmstead Milk
Processing with Greg Lockwood,
VT State Dairy Plant Inspector.
December 4-5 Italian cheeses:
Romano, Toma, Provolone, Fresh
Mozzarella, and Ricotta from goat
and cow milk.
2005 Schedule
January 15-16 Cheesemaking and
Starter Culture Technology with
Margaret Morris: Gouda, Aged
goat cheeses, and Tomme cheesemaking and classroom instruction.
April 23-24 Soft-ripened cheeses:
Brie, Camembert, Aged Goat
cheeses, French Tomme, Butter
and Crème Fraiche from cow and
goat milk.
February 12-13 Four Blue cheeses
from goat and cow milk, including
Bleu de Gex (tomme-style).
May 7-8 Cheeses of the
Mediterranean: Feta, Kashkaval,
Fresh Mozzarella, Corsican-style
tomme, Ricotta and Yogurt from
goat, sheep and cow milk.
March 12-13 British cheeses:
Caerphilly, Colwick, Cheddar
(cloth-bound), and Chesire from
cow milk.
May 21-22 Alpine cheeses: Swiss,
Asiago, Tomme and Toma, Butter
and Sour Cream from cow and
goat milk.
Peter Dixon (left)
getting “handson” with novice
cheesemakers.
Goat Dairies of Distinction in Vermont
The Vermont division of the Northeast Dairy Farm Beautification
Program chose 165 farms to receive the honor of “Dairy of Distinction”
this year. These farms that apply are visited in June and their land and
animal management are viewed to recognize those farms that maintain
attractive, well-kept farmsteads to support the effort to promote a
positive dairy farm image. Good manure management and good care of
animals are rewarded. Among the five goat dairies to receive the award
was VCC member Joanne James, Lakes End Cheeses, Alburg.
7
LET’S VISIT...
Hope Farm
arbara and Harvey Levin make
their home in the shadow of
Westmore Mountain in the
Northeast Kingdom of Vermont on a
little sheep dairy they call Hope
Farm. There, they raise sheep for
meat and milk. The milk they turn
into three varieties of decidedly
delicious farmstead, raw sheep milk
cheese. It’s a relatively small
operation, currently yielding about
1,000 pounds of cheese each year
but, along with the meat sales, it’s
been enough to help support the
couple and their border collie, Mac,
since they walked away from
“regular” jobs a few years ago.
Though East Charleston, the
hamlet in which Hope Farms lays, is
not exactly on the way from or to
anywhere in particular, it is a bucolic
setting discovered by the Levins in
2001 when they set out to make the
move to Vermont. Though they came
to Vermont from another small sheep
farm in Chester, New Hampshire –
where they had been raising sheep
since 1981, their path to Hope Farm
was an indirect one, as is mostly the
case with Vermont’s artisinal cheesemakers.
B
From Big City to the
country
Harv and Barbara got to Vermont
by way of New York City with a 23
year stop over in rural New
Hampshire. In New York, Barbara
once earned her living as a dancer,
doing shows and concert work and,
later, as a physical therapist. Walking
the field with her dog, her dancer’s
training is apparent on this particular
cool late summer day. She is
straight, strong and graceful though
Christopher Dale
A marriage of ingenuity and hard work = great cheese
Barbara and Harvey Levin with
their border collie, Mac.
she plods along in rubber boots. She
looks at home. Harv, too, looks like
the farm suits him. The couple met
when Harv was a patron at a jazz bar
in Greenwich Village where Barbara
worked on the weekends during her
days at Hunter College. They’ve been
married now for 30 years.
Harv’s degree in mechanical
engineering from the Newark College
of Engineering has come in very
handy in the farm-based lifestyle that
he embraced years ago. He has built,
repaired or rebuilt just about
everything on the farm including the
8
barn roof for which he had to forgo
his fear of heights. One of Harv’s
more creative and practical building
projects was the creation of a
unique, hard plastic cheese press
that sits atop a work table in their
pristine and tidy cheese room. “It
cleans up well, “says Harv, an
understated, modest man. One gets
the sense that Harv could fix or built
anything he set his mind to. That
kind of “can-do” spirit led the couple
into their cheesemaking business
which has proven to be both
successful and “very gratifying”
according to Barbara who also
weaves during the long, cold
Vermont winters and “wallows” in
the Sunday New York Times when
time permits. The off-season also
affords Harv a catch up around the
farm, repairing and rebuilding
whatever needs work at their 100
plus year old homestead.
When spring comes around, the
cheesemaking season kicks in in
earnest. From mid-May though Fall
foliage you can find the Levins
tending their mixed flock of milkers,
working in the cheese room or
traveling around the region to sell
their wares. The Farmer’s Markets in
Danville and St. Johnsbury have
become regular sales venues for
Hope Farm in season as have some
regional retailers including Newport
Natural Foods and the Kingdom
County Coop. Though the Levins
once questioned whether anyone
would want to buy the cheeses they
produced, they have had no trouble
selling out all that they can make of
three varieties: Tomme de Brebis,
Pierce Hill and Summer Daze, and
that includes to customers well
Christopher Dale
Hope Farm, nestled in
the shadow of
Westmore Mountain.
beyond the reach of northeastern
Vermont.
Cheese Traveling
Out of State
Through the Vermont Cheese
Council’s web site
(www.vtcheese.com) and as a result
of the VCC newsletter, word has
traveled far beyond the shadow of
Westmore Mountain that there’s
“gold in them there hills” – golden,
creamy, flavorful cheese. Among
their unexpected customers has been
the upscale restaurants L’Espalier of
Boston and Moxie’s of Cleveland,
both of which buys wheels of Hope
Farm’s Tomme for inclusion on their
cheese plates. Nick Tranquillo,
Assistant Sommelier and Assistant
Maitre’D at L’Espalier, one of Boston’s
finest restaurant, tells how he
discovered Hope Farm in a blinding
snow storm in December 2003 while
visiting friends in Northeast
Vermont. “I knew of Hope Farm from
the Cheese Council newsletter and
thought I’d make a visit while in the
area. When I finally got through the
snow storm and arrived at the farm I
found they only had a little piece of
cheese left from their season
production. But I tasted it and loved
it. We’ve been featuring Hope Farm’s
Tomme de Brebis on our cheese tray
ever since.” (see related story on
Boston Restaurant showcasing
Vermont cheeses.) Other customers
from out of state have also
discovered the cheeses of Hope
Farm, such as the mother of her
neighbor who lives in Texas, had a
taste of Tomme on a visit once and
still wants more. Barbara
accommodates all she can.
As for the future, the Levins hope
to transition their 30 milkers to a full
dairy breed so that they can
ultimately double their
cheese production.
With demand
continuing to grow
along with the
reputation of their
cheese, this is a hope that should be
easily realized. “Hope” remains an
operative word in all that the Levins
have undertaken. “When we started
farming in New Hampshire, we
prefaced much of our plans with
saying “I hope this will work or that
will work,” which led to the genesis
of the name of the farm,” says
Barbara. Now, some 25 years later,
they are still hoping but with a little
more certainty about the outcome.
Hope Farm has lived up to its name.
USDA Rural Development’s
Value-Added Producer Grants
ederal grants may be
available to assist cheesemakers with marketing or
with the development of their
products. Eligible independent
producers, agricultural producer
groups, farmer or rancher cooperatives, and majority-controlled
producer-based business ventures
may seek funds for value-added
economic planning activities such
as feasibility study, business plan
and marketing plan development;
F
9
or for working capital operating
expenses related to the valueadded venture. Program
information is available online at
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coo
ps/vadg.htm, or for more
information cheesemakers may
contact Lyn Millhiser, USDA Rural
Development Business &
Cooperative Programs Specialist
in Vermont and New Hampshire at
802-828-6069 or
lyn.millhiser@vt.usda.gov.
SMALL BITES
On May 17, 2004, over 150 people
gathered around tables in the ball
room at the offices of Provisions
International Ltd. in White River Vt.,
to take part in a cheese tasting led by
Max McCalman, author of The
Cheese Plate, maitre fromager at the
Manhattan restaurant Picholine and
one of the driving forces behind the
Artisanal Cheese Center in New York.
The event was co- sponsored by the
Vermont Cheese Council. Twelve
cheeses were included in the formal
tasting, three from New England and
one, Constant Bliss, from Jasper Hill
Farm in Vermont. In addition to
these twelve, there was a large table
of 15 varieties of cheese made in
Vermont. This cheese and the
cheesemakers themselves were
available during the reception
following. It was a lively, fun, and
educational afternoon.
Vermont Butter & Cheese
Company’s cultured butter with sea
salt crystals won “outstanding cheese
or dairy product” in June at the
International Summer Fancy Food
Show in New York City. It was also
written up in the New York Times,
Boston Globe, and Chicago Tribune.
Max McCalman, author of The Cheese Plate, at Provisions’ event.
The June issues of Country Home,
Food and Wine, House and Garden,
Bon Appetit, Traditional Home and
This Old House featured full page ads
highlighting the cheeses of Vermont.
This was a cooperative ad between
the Agency of Agriculture and the
Vermont Department of Tourism and
Marketing. (see page 1)
Jon Wright at Taylor Farm in
Londonderry reports that due to a
tremendous increase in retail sales
right at the farm, they have built an
addition to their cheese room which
will be ready at the time of this
newsletter. They’ve added a 22’x40’
entryway/sales room, new basement
aging room and second floor office
space. Currently, Taylor Farm is
milking a mixed herd of 45 Holsteins
and Jerseys and are down to shipping
milk only one day/week, using the
rest in their production of gouda
style cheeses in the following
varieties: traditional, Maple Smoked,
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Chipotle pepper, Garlic, Caraway,
Cumin, Nettle and Aged. Taylor Farm
strongly encourages visitors any day
of the week and still does a great
sleigh ride business (weather
permitting) throughout the winter.
Local Vermont Arts and
Humanities organizations have
discovered the value of pairing wine
and cheese for non-profit, “profit”.
The Flynn Performing Arts Center,
located in Burlington, held a fundraising Wine and Cheese festival on
September 19 at Shelburne Farms.
Participating VCC members included:
Cabot Creamery, Grafton Village
Cheese Company, Shelburne Farms
and Taylor Farm cheese. And on
Saturday, October 9, a similar event
took place at the Kellogg-Hubbard
Library in Montpelier. Featured VCC
members included: Jasper Hill
Farm, Neighborly Farms of
Vermont, Thistle Hill Farm, Taylor
Farm Cheese, and Vermont Butter
& Cheese Company along with a
dozen regional bakeries, chocolaters,
and wineries.
Jasper Hill Farm was the focus of
an article entitled “Cheese Whizzes,”
that appeared in the Business section
of the Times Argus on September 30.
The article explored the relationship
between the Greensboro, Vermontbased cheesemaker and the New
England Culinary School, located in
Montpelier. A recipe for Beef
tenderloin with mesclun greens,
peach vinaigrette and Bayley Hazen
Blue Cheese, accompanied the article
which also featured a photo of Jasper
Hill cheesemaker Victoria
VonHessert.
Green Mountain Blue Cheese
was mentioned in a recipe/article in
September issue of Yankee magazine
titled “Harvest at Hemingway’s”
(photograph by Rose McNulty)
The President Calvin Coolidge
State Historic Site hosted the
Plymouth Cheese & Harvest Festival
on Saturday, September 11. Held
annually since 1997, the festival was
selected as one of Vermont’s “Top 10
Fall Events” by the Vermont
Chamber of Commerce in 2001 &
2002. This year, Cobb Hill Cheese
was featured at the event which was
attended by approximately 350
visitors.
Terra Madre, World Meeting of
Food Communities, sponsored by
Slow Food in Turin, Italy from
October 20-23, 2004 featured VCC
cheesemakers Vermont Butter &
Cheese Company, Cabot Creamery,
Thistle Hill, Peaked Mountain
Farm, Shelburne Farms, Woodcock
Farm and Grafton Village Cheese.
Terra Madre is a forum “for those
who seek to grow, raise, catch, create,
distribute and promote food in ways
that respect the environment, defend
human dignity and protect the health
of consumers”. Their approach to
food production is an alternative to
the current industrial food
production system: one where food
quality and variety are valued, rural
regions thrives, and links between
producers and consumers are strong.
The cheeses from Willow Hill
Farm were featured in the Fall 2004
issue of La Vie Claire, Claire
Murray’s new magazine
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Vermont Cheese
Council Member
Cheesemakers
Blueledge Farm, Salisbury
Blythedale Farm, Corinth
Bonnieview Farm,
Craftsbury Common
Cabot Creamery Cooperative,
Cabot
Champlain Valley Creamery,
Vergennes
Cobb Hill, Hartland
Creek Road Cheese Company,
Irasburg
Crowley Cheese, Healdville
Does Leap Farm, Bakersfield
Franklin Foods, Enosburg Falls
Hope Farm, Charleston
Grafton Village Cheese, Grafton
Green Mountain Blue Cheese,
Highgate Center
Jasper Hill Farm, Greensboro
La Fromagerie du Royaume,
Guildhall
Lakesend Cheeses, Alburg
Lazy Lady Farm, Westfield
Maryella Farm, E. Corinth
Neighborly Farm, Randolph
Orb Weaver Farm, New Haven
Peaked Mountain Farm,
Townshend
Pomeroy Farm, Londonderry
Shelburne Farms, Shelburne
Star Hill Dairy, S. Woodstock
Taylor Farm, Inc, Londonderry
Thistle Hill, North Pomfret
Three Owls Sheep Dairy,
Granville
Three Shepherds of the
Mad River Valley, Warren
Vermont Butter and Cheese
Company, Websterville
Vermont Shepherd, Putney
Westminster Dairy,
Westminster
Willow Hill Farm, Milton
Woodcock Farm, Weston
VERMONT DEPARTMENT
OF
Vermont Cheese Council
116 State Street
Montpelier, Vermont 05620-2901
AGRICULTURE
NON-PROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT #74
MONTPELIER VT
Calendar of Upcoming Events
The Vermont Cheese Council
Newsletter is published for
Cheese Workshops from
The Training Center for
Farmstead Milk Processing
at Westminster Dairy
November 20 The Business and
Regulation of Farmstead Milk
Processing
December 4-5 Italian cheeses
For more information, contact
Peter Dixon, (802) 387-4041
(pdixon@sover.net)
Hygiene and Food Safety
in Cheesemaking
December 9-10, 2004
Vermont Institute for Artisan
Cheeses
University of Vermont
(802) 656-8300
Winter 2005
Fancy Food Show®
January 23-25, 2005
Moscone Center, San Francisco
www.specialtyfood.com/do/Home
food professionals.
With written permission,
reprinting is encouraged.
Contact:
THE VERMONT
CHEESE COUNCIL
116 State Street
Drawer 20
Montpelier, VT 05620-1901
888-523-7484
www.vtcheese.com
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